Method and system for managing pages of documents on a multi-function printer

ABSTRACT

A method for page management for use with an image forming apparatus includes receiving a request from a user for processing one or more pages of one or more documents. Further, the method includes displaying on a display (a) a thumbnail image generated for each page and (b) a plurality of options for processing the one or more pages. Furthermore, the method includes receiving a selection by the user of at least one option of the plurality of options. Thereafter, the method includes processing the one or more pages, according to the at least one option of the selection received from the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromIndian Patent Application No. 202141023231, filed on May 25, 2021, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to data processing. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and a systemfor managing pages of documents on a Multi-Function Printer (MFP).

BACKGROUND

An MFP is a device which incorporates functionality of multiple devices.The MFP provides centralized documentmanagement/distribution/production. The functionalities include fax,photocopying, printing, scanning, and the like. The MFP performs variousprocessing on a document such as mailing the document (e.g., emailing),storing the document, converting the document into multiple fileformats, and the like. Hence, the integration of the functionalities ofthe multiple devices in the MFP provides centralized document managementand document distribution. A user may wish to process multiple pages ofvarious documents differently. A job may be referred as a unit of workperformed by the MFP at a time. For example, processing pages of thedocument at one time may be referred as the job. In this case, user mustprovide the multiple pages for processing as multiple jobs for the MFP.Also, the user must segregate the multiple pages based on a processingrequirement. When large number of pages are to be processed, valuabletime of the user is lost in segregating the multiple pages to distinctgroups based on the processing requirement.

The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure sectionis only for enhancement of understanding of the general background ofthe invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any formof suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known toa person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a method for pagemanagement for use with an MFP. The method comprises receiving a requestfrom a user for processing one or more pages of one or more documents.Further, the method comprises displaying on a display (a) a thumbnailimage generated for each page and (b) and a plurality of options forprocessing the one or more pages. Furthermore, the method comprisesreceiving a selection by the user of at least one option of theplurality of options. Thereafter, the method comprises processing theone or more pages, according to the at least one of option of theselection received from the user.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a system for pagemanagement for an MFP. The system comprises one or more processors and amemory. The one or more processors are configured to receive a requestfrom a user for processing one or more pages of one or more documents.Further, the one or more processors are configured to control a displayto display (a) a thumbnail image generated for each page and (b) aplurality of options for processing the one or more pages. Furthermore,the one or more processors are configured to receive a selection by theuser of at least one option of the plurality of options. Thereafter, theone or more processors are configured to process the one or more pagesaccording to the at least one option of the selection received from theuser.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a non-transitorycomputer readable medium including instructions stored thereon that,when processed by at least one processor, cause a system to performoperations comprising receiving a request from a user for processing oneor more pages of one or more documents. Further, (a) a thumbnail imagegenerated for each page and (b) a plurality of options for processingthe one or more pages are displayed on a display. Furthermore, aselection by a user of at least one option of the plurality of optionsis received. Thereafter, the one or more pages are processed accordingto the at least one option of the selection received from the user.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The novel features and characteristics of the disclosure are set forthin the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as apreferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof, willbest be understood by reference to the following detailed description ofan illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with theaccompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by wayof example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein likereference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a system for processing multiple pages of documents on anMFP;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary environment for managing pages of documents onan MFP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an internal architecture of a system for managingpages of documents on an MFP, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary flow chart illustrating method steps formanaging pages of documents on an MFP, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show exemplary illustrations for managing pages ofdocuments on an MFP, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a general-purpose computing system formanaging pages of documents on an MFP, in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any blockdiagram herein represents conceptual views of illustrative systemsembodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, itwill be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, statetransition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent variousprocesses which may be substantially represented in computer readablemedium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not suchcomputer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the present document, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment orimplementation of the present subject matter described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It shouldbe understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosureto the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosureis to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives fallingwithin the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof,are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup,device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does notinclude only those components or steps but may include other componentsor steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device ormethod. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatusproceeded by “comprises... a” does not, without more constraints,preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in thesystem or apparatus.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and a systemfor managing multiple pages of various documents on an MFP (which mayalso be referred to as an image forming apparatus or image processingapparatus). A request for processing one or more pages is received froma user. The system generates a thumbnail image for each page. Further,the thumbnail image is displayed to the user. Also, the system providesa plurality of options for processing the one or more pages. The userselects the pages and the options for processing the pages, usingthumbnail images generated for corresponding pages. The one or morepages are processed based on the options selected for correspondingpages. The present disclosure allows the user to provide a request forprocessing the multiple pages with different processing requirements atonce. Appropriate options can be specified by the user to processdifferent pages based on the processing requirement. The presentdisclosure provides a time-efficient and user convenient process tomanage the one or more pages efficiently.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 for processing the multiple pages of thedocuments on the MFP 103. A user 101 wants to process the multiple pages1, 2, 3..., 10. The user 101 provides a first input for a first job J1to be performed by the MFP 103. The first input may be a request toprocess the pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to convert the pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and5 to Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) format and transmit the pages 1, 2,3, 4, and 5 to Universal Serial Bus (USB) connected to the MFP 103. Theuser 101 has formed a group of pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to provide to theMFP 103 to perform the first job J1. Process flow 102 ₁ shows executionof the first job J1. 104 ₁ shows the pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 convertedto the TIFF format. 105 ₁ shows the pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 transmittedto the USB. Further, the user 101 provides a second input for a secondjob J2 to be performed by the MFP 103. The second input may be a requestto process the pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 to convert the pages 1, 2, 6, 7,and 8 to Portable Document Format (PDF) format and store the pages 1, 2,6, 7, and 8 to local storage of the MFP 103. The user 101 has formed agroup of pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 to provide to the MFP 103 to performthe second job J2. Process flow 102 ₂ shows execution of the second jobJ2. 104 ₂ shows the pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 converted to the PDF format.105 ₂ shows the pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 stored in the local storage.Further, the user 101 provides a third input for a third job J3 to beperformed by the MFP 103. The third input may be a request to processthe pages 9 and 10 to convert the pages 9 and 10 to Joint PhotographicExperts Group (JPEG) format and mail the pages 9 and 10 to another user.The user 101 has formed a group of pages 9 and 10 to provide to the MFP103 to perform the third job J3. Process flow 102 ₃ shows execution ofthe third job J3. 104 ₃ shows the pages 9 and 10 converted to the JPEGformat. 105 ₃ shows the pages 9 and 10 mailed to another user. Hence,the user 101 must segregate the multiple pages to distinct groups basedon the processing requirement, before processing the multiple pages.This process is time-consuming and cumbersome for the user 101.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary environment 200 for managing pages ofdocuments on an MFP, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The exemplary environment 200 comprises a user 101, an MFP103, and a system 202 (e.g., a controller). The system 202 may includeone or more features that differ from and provide advantages over thesystem 100. The user 101 may request the MFP 103 to process one or morepages 1, 2, ...10 of one or more documents (not shown in FIG. 2 ). 10pages are shown in FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes. The user 101 mayrequest processing N number of pages. The one or more pages 1, 2, ...10is referred as the one or more pages 201 in FIG. 2 . The one or morepages 201 may be pages of a document related with the user 101. Forexample, the one or more pages 201 may be pages of a passport, aninformational report, and the like. In another example, each of the oneor more pages 201 may be from single page documents related with theuser 101. For example, the one or more pages 201 may be a driver’slicense, identification card, birth certificate, and the like. Thesystem 202 may be associated with the MFP 103. The system 202 may beconfigured to manage the one or more pages 201 of the one or moredocuments. In an embodiment, the one or more pages 201 may be receivedfrom the user 101 for performing scanning operation using the MFP 103.In another embodiment, the one or more pages may be pre-stored in amemory unit associated with the MFP 103.

The system 202 may be configured to receive the request for processingthe one or more pages 201 of the one or more documents, from the user101. The request may be to perform scanning of the one or more pages201, transmission of the one or more pages 201, converting the one orpages 201 to a file format, and the like. Further, the system 202 maygenerate a thumbnail image 203 for each page from the one or more pages201. The thumbnail image 203 is a reduced-size image version of the oneor more pages 201. The thumbnail image 203 is used to help inrecognizing the one or more pages 201. T1, T2, ... T10 illustrates 10thumbnail images of 10 pages. N thumbnail images are generated for Nnumber of pages. The thumbnail image T1 is represented as 203 ₁ in FIG.2 . Similarly, the thumbnail image T2 may be referred as 203 ₂. Thethumbnail image T10 may be referred as 203 ₁₀. The thumbnail images foreach page from the one or more pages 201 are referred as the thumbnailimages 203 hereafter in the present description.

Further, the system 202 is configured to display the thumbnail image 203generated for each page from the one or more pages 201. Furthermore, thesystem 202 is configured to display a plurality of options forprocessing the one or more pages 201. The plurality of options arerepresented as option 1 204 ₁ and option 2 204 ₂ in FIG. 2 . Forexample, the option 1 204 ₁ may be a file format for storing the one ormore pages 201. The option 2 204 ₂ may be a transmission destination fortransmitting the one or more pages 201. Two options are shown forillustrative purposes only and should not be considered as a limitation.The plurality of options is referred to as the plurality of options 204hereafter in the present description. The system 202 is configured toreceive a selection of the plurality of options 204 for the one or morepages 201, from the user 101. The thumbnail image 203 may be a previewof a corresponding page to the user 101. The user 101 may select the oneor more pages 201 from the thumbnail images 203. Consider that the user101 may desire to store page 1 and page 2 from the one or more pages 201in a TIFF format and transmit the page 1 and page 2 to a USB. The user101 may select the page 1 and page 2 from respective thumbnail images T1and T2. Further, the user 101 may select the option 1 204 ₁ indicatingthe TIFF format. The selection of the option 1 204 ₁ is illustrated inFIG. 2 . The user 101 may select the option 2 204 ₂ for transmitting thepage 1 and page 2 to the USB.

Further, the system 202 may be configured to process the one or morepages 201, based on corresponding selection received from the user 101.The processing of the one or more pages 201 may comprise storing the oneor more pages 201 in a required file format, transmitting the one ormore pages 201 to a transmission destination, and the like. For example,pages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 may be converted to a TIFF format andtransmitted to USB connected to the MFP 103. Pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 maybe converted to a PDF format and stored in a local storage of the MFP103. Pages 9 and 10 may be converted to a JPEG format and sent to amailbox. The outputs of the MFP 103 is shown as 205 in FIG. 2 . In anembodiment, the system 202 managing the one or more pages 201 of the oneor more documents on the MFP 103, may be implemented in a variety ofcomputing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, aPersonal Computer (PC), a notebook, a smartphone, a tablet, e-bookreaders, a server, a network server, a cloud-based server and the like.In an embodiment, the system 202 may be integrated with the MFP 103. Thesystem 202 may reside in the MFP 103. The system 202 may connect to theMFP 103 using a wired connection. In another embodiment, the system 202may communicate with the MFP 103 over a communication network (not shownin FIG. 2 ). The communication network may include, without limitation,a direct interconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), theInternet, etc.

FIG. 3 illustrates an internal architecture 300 of the system 202 formanaging the one or more pages 201 of the one or more documents on theMFP 103, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.The system 202 may include Central Processing Units 303 (also referredas “CPUs” or “one or more processors 303”), an Input/ Output (I/O)interface 301, and a memory 302. In some embodiments, the memory 302 maybe communicatively coupled to the processor 303. The memory 302 storesinstructions executable by the one or more processors 303. The one ormore processors 303 may comprise at least one data processor forexecuting program components for executing user or system-generatedrequests. The memory 302 may be communicatively coupled to the one ormore processors 303. The memory 302 stores instructions, executable bythe one or more processors 303, which, on execution, may cause the oneor more processors 303 to manage the one or more pages 201 of the one ormore documents on the MFP 103. In an embodiment, the memory 302 mayinclude one or more modules 305 and data 304. The one or more modules305 may be configured to perform the steps of the present disclosureusing the data 304, to manage the one or more pages 201 of the one ormore documents on the MFP 103. In an embodiment, each of the one or moremodules 305 may be a hardware unit which may be outside the memory 302and coupled with the system 202. As used herein, the term modules 305refers to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), anelectronic circuit, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA),Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), a combinational logic circuit,and/or other suitable components that provide described functionality.The one or more modules 305 when configured with the describedfunctionality defined in the present disclosure will result in a novelhardware. Further, the I/O interface 301 is coupled with the one or moreprocessors 303 through which an input signal or/and an output signal iscommunicated. For example, the system 202 may receive the request forprocessing the one or more pages 201 and the selection of the pluralityof options 204 from the user 101, via the I/O interface 301.

In one implementation, the modules 305 may include, for example, aninput module 311, a thumbnail image display module 312, a selectioninput module 313, a processing module 314, and other modules 315. Itwill be appreciated that such aforementioned modules 305 may berepresented as a single module or a combination of different modules. Inone implementation, the data 304 may include, for example, input data306, thumbnail image data 307, selection data 308, process data 309, andother data 310.

In an embodiment, the input module 311 may be configured to receive arequest for processing the one or more pages 201, from the user 101. Theone or more pages 201 may be from the one or more documents. Forexample, the one or more pages 201 may all be from the same document. Inanother example, the one or more pages 201 may be from variousdocuments. In one embodiment, the request may be to perform scanning ofthe one or more pages 201. The one or more pages 201 of the one or moredocuments may be received from the user 101 along with the request forprocessing the one or more pages. In the embodiment, the request maycomprise one or more properties for scanning the one or more pages 201,when the request is for scanning the one or more pages 201. The one ormore properties may comprise image resolution, color mode for scanningthe one or more pages 201, and the like. In another embodiment, the oneor more pages 201 may be pre-stored in a memory unit associated with theMFP 103. For example, the one or more pages 201 may be pre-stored in ane-filing box associated with the MFP 103. The e-filing box is a personalstorage box provisioned for the user 101 to store documents and tomanage the stored documents in the MFP 103. The one or more pages 201may be stored as the input data 306 in the memory 302.

In the embodiment, for scanning the one or more pages 201, the one ormore properties may be stored in local memory of the MFP 103. The MFP103 may communicate the one or more properties to the input module 311.The one or more properties may be stored in the memory 302 as the otherdata 310. The one or more properties may be retrieved by the processingmodule 314 when processing the one or more pages 201.

In an embodiment, the thumbnail image display module 312 may beconfigured to receive the input data 306 from the input module 311. Thethumbnail image display module 312 may be configured to generate thethumbnail image 203 for each page from the one or more pages 201. Thethumbnail image display module 312 may generate the thumbnail image 203by reducing size of the one or more pages 201. For example, thethumbnail image display module 312 may use image downscaling techniquesto reduce the size of the one or more pages 201. A person skilled in theart will appreciate that any known techniques other than theabove-mentioned techniques may be used to generate the thumbnail image203 for each of the one or more pages 201. In an embodiment, thethumbnail image display module 312 may generate the thumbnail images 203directly when the one or more pages 201 are pre-stored. In anotherembodiment, the thumbnail image display module 312 may store a scannedversion of each of the one or more pages 201 in a raw image format, whenthe one or more pages 201 are received from the user 101 for scanning.The thumbnail image display module 312 may generate the thumbnail images203 from corresponding scanned version of the one or more pages 201 inthe raw image format. When the scanned version of the one or more pagesare stored in the raw image format, processing complexity in storing thescanned version of one or more pages 201 in a processed image format isreduced. Further, the processing complexity in post-processing theprocessed image format to a different image format is reduced.

Further, the thumbnail image display module 312 may be configured todisplay the thumbnail images 203 to the user 101. Further, the thumbnailimage display module 312 may be configured to display the plurality ofoptions 204 for processing the one or more pages 201. The plurality ofoptions 204 may comprise at least one of (a) one or more file formatsfor storing the one or more pages 201 or (b) one or more transmissiondestinations for transmitting the one or more pages 201. The one or morefile formats may be a TIFF format, a PDF format, a JPEG format, and thelike. The plurality of options 204 may give the user the option toenable searchable text in the one or more pages 201. For example, afirst option and a second option for a page may be a PDF format andlocal storage, respectively. A third option may be to enable thesearchable text in the page. When such options are selected by the user101, the searchable text may be enabled in the page stored as the PDF inthe local storage. The plurality of options 204 may comprise a namingformat for naming the one or more pages 201 along with the one or morefile formats. The one or more transmission destinations may be USB,email, local storage, and the like. The plurality of options 204 maycomprise one or more recipients intended to receive the one or morepages 201 along with the transmission destination. The plurality ofoptions may comprise to enable archiving the one or more pages 201before transmitting the one or more pages 201 to the transmissiondestination. The thumbnail images 203 generated for the one or morepages may be stored as the thumbnail image data 307 in the memory 302.

In an embodiment, the selection input module 313 may be configured toreceive the thumbnail image data 307 from the thumbnail image displaymodule 312. The selection input module 313 may be configured to receivea selection of the plurality of options 204 for the one or more pages201, from the user 101. The user 101 may select a first group of pagesfrom the one or more pages 201 with a first processing requirement alongwith corresponding options 204, from the displayed thumbnail images 203.For example, the user 101 may select pages 1, 2, and 3. The user 101 mayselect the TIFF format and the USB for the pages 1, 2, and 3. Further,the user 101 may select a second group of pages from the one or morepages 201 with a second processing requirement. For example, the user101 may select pages 4, 5, 6. The user 101 may select the PDF format andthe local storage for the pages 4, 5, 6. Furthermore, the user 101 mayselect a third group of pages from the one or more pages 201 with athird processing requirement. For example, the user 101 may select pages7, 9, 10. The user 101 may select the JPEG format and email for thepages 7, 9, 10. In an embodiment, the selection input module 313 mayselect a default option (e.g., a predetermined option) for storing thescanned version of a page when the user 101 has not selected theplurality of options 204 for the page. For example, the user 101 may notselect any option from the plurality of options 204 for page 8. Theselection input module 313 may store the page 8 in the local storage ina default format. For example, the default format may be the PDF format.The selection of the plurality of options 204 for the one or more pages201 received from the user 101 may be stored as the selection data 308in the memory 302. Information related to the plurality of options 204may be stored as the other data 310 in the memory 302.

In an embodiment, the processing module 314 may be configured to receivethe selection data 308 from the selection input module 313. Theprocessing module 314 may process the one or more pages 201, based oncorresponding selection received from the user 101. The processing ofthe one or more pages 201 may comprise converting the one or more pages201 to a file format (e.g., when the file format from the one or morefile formats is selected by the user 101). Further, the processing ofthe one or more pages 201 may comprise transmitting the one or morepages 201 to a transmission destination, when the transmissiondestination from the one or more transmission destinations is selectedby the user 101. Referring to the above example, the processing module314 may convert the first group of pages to the TIFF format and transmitto the USB connected to the MFP 103. The processing module 314 mayconvert the second group of pages to the PDF format and store in thelocal storage of the MFP 103. The processing module 314 may convert thethird group of pages to the JPEG format and mail the third group ofpages to another user. In an example, the processing module 314 may namethe one or more pages 201 according to the naming format selected by theuser 101 and store in the local storage. In another example, theprocessing module 314 may enable archive for the one or more pages 201before transmitting the one or more pages 201 and transmit the one ormore pages 201 to another user.

In an embodiment, the processing module 314 is further configured todetermine the selection received for a page from the one or more pages201 to be same as a previous selection of an option from the pluralityof options 204, received for the page. The processing module 314 isconfigured to receive pre-stored page generated by processing the pagebased on the previous selection, from a storage associated with the MFP103. Further, the processing module 314 is configured to utilize theprocessed page instead of processing the page again based on theselection. For example, the user 101 may select the PDF format and thelocal storage for pages 1, 2 and 3. Further, the user 101 may select thePDF format and the email for pages 1, 4 and 5. Consider, page 1 hasalready been processed in the PDF format to fulfil the previousselection of the user 101. Hence, the processing module 314 receives thepre-stored page 1 in the PDF format to email to another user. Hence,time to process the page in the same format again is reduced. Datarelated to the processing of the one or more pages 201 may be stored asthe process data 309 in the memory 302.

The other data 310 may store data, including temporary data andtemporary files, generated by the one or more modules 305 for performingthe various functions of the system 202. The one or more modules 305 mayalso include the other modules 315 to perform various miscellaneousfunctionalities of the system 202. For example, the other modules 315may comprise a user interface (e.g., a user interface control module).The user interface may be used to display the thumbnail images 203generated for each page from the one or more pages 201, and a pluralityof options 204 for processing the one or more pages 201. In anembodiment, the thumbnail image display module 312 may be integratedwith the user interface. The thumbnail image display module 312 mayprovide the generated thumbnail images 203 to the user interface. Theother data 310 may be stored in the memory 302. It will be appreciatedthat the one or more modules 305 may be represented as a single moduleor a combination of different modules.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary flow chart illustrating method steps formanaging the one or more pages 201 of the one or more documents on theMFP 103, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the method 400 may comprise one or moresteps. The method 400 may be described in the general context ofcomputer executable instructions. Generally, computer executableinstructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particularfunctions or implement particular abstract data types.

The order in which the method 400 is described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described method blockscan be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally,individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing fromthe scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, themethod can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware,or combination thereof.

At step 401, the system 202 may receive the request for processing oneor more pages 201, from the user 101. The one or more pages 201 may befrom the one or more documents. In one embodiment, the request may be toperform scanning of the one or more pages 201. The one or more pages 201of the one or more documents may be received from the user 101 alongwith the request for processing the one or more pages. Referring toexample 500 of FIG. 5A, the user 101 may provide the request to scanpages 1-10. The pages 1-10 are represented as 501 in FIG. 5A. The user101 may provide the one or more pages 501. The one or more propertiesmay be same for the one or more pages 501. In another embodiment, theone or more pages 201 may be pre-stored in a memory unit associated withthe MFP 103. For example, the one or more pages 201 may be pre-stored inan e-filing box associated with the MFP 103. Referring to example 505 ofFIG. 5B, the user 101 may provide the request to process pages 1, 2, 9,10, 19, and 20 (e.g., a selection of the pages). The pages 1, 2, 9, 10,19, and 20 are represented as 506 in FIG. 5B. 507 represents thee-filing box associated with the MFP 103. A folder related to the user101 in the e-filing box is shown in FIG. 5B. The folder comprises pages1-20. Hence, the one or more pages 506 are pre-stored in the e-filingbox 507.

Referring back to FIG. 4 , at step 402, the system 202 may generate thethumbnail image 203 for each page from the one or more pages 201.Further, the system 202 may be configured to display the thumbnailimages 203 to the user 101. Further, the system 202 may be configured todisplay the plurality of options 204 for processing the one or morepages 201. Referring again to the example 500 of FIG. 5A, the thumbnailimages 502 ₁, 502 ₂...., 502 ₁₀ for the one or more pages 501 and theplurality of options are displayed to the user 101. The plurality ofoptions comprises the one or more file formats 503 ₁ such as the TIFFformat, the PDF format, the JPEG format, and the like. The plurality ofoptions also comprises the one or more transmission destinations 503 ₂such as the USB, the local storage, email, and the like. Referring againto the example 505 of FIG. 5B, the thumbnail images 502 ₁, 502 ₂......,502 ₉, 502 ₁₀......., 502 ₁₀ for the one or more pages 506 and theplurality of options are displayed to the user 101. The plurality ofoptions comprises the one or more file formats 503 ₁ such as the TIFFformat, the PDF format, the JPEG format, and the like. The plurality ofoptions comprises the one or more transmission destinations 503 ₂ suchas the USB, the local storage, email, and the like.

Referring back to FIG. 4 , at step 403, the system 202 may receive theselection of the plurality of options 204 for the one or more pages 201,from the user 101. Referring again to the example 500 of FIG. 5A, theuser 101 may select the TIFF format and the USB for the pages 1, 2, 3,4, and 5 (e.g., a first page subset). The user 101 may select the PDFformat and the local storage for the pages 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 (e.g., asecond page subset). The user 101 may select the JPEG format and emailfor the pages 9 and 10 (e.g., a third page subset). In an embodiment,the system 202 may select a default option for storing the scannedversion of a page when the user 101 has not selected the plurality ofoptions 204 for the page. The system 202 may store the page in the localstorage in a default format. For example, the default format may be thePDF format. Referring again to the example 505 of FIG. 5B, the user 101may select the PDF format and e-mail for the pages 9 and 10. Similarly,the user 101 may select the one or more file formats 503 ₁ and the oneor more transmission destinations 503 ₂ for other pages from the one ormore pages 506.

Referring back to FIG. 4 , at step 404, the system 202 may process theone or more pages 201, based on corresponding selection received fromthe user 101. The processing of the one or more pages 201 may compriseconverting the one or more pages 201 to a file format. Further, theprocessing of the one or more pages 201 may comprise transmitting theone or more pages 201 to a transmission destination. Referring again tothe example 500 of FIG. 5A, the system 202 may convert the first groupof pages to the TIFF format and transmit to the USB connected to the MFP103. The system 202 may convert the second group of pages to the PDFformat and store in the local storage of the MFP 103. The system 202 mayconvert the third group of pages to the JPEG format and mail the thirdgroup of pages to another user. Output of the MFP 103 is represented as504 in FIG. 5A. In an example, the system 202 may name the one or morepages 201 according to the naming format selected by the user 101 andstore in the local storage. In another example, the system 202 mayenable archive for the one or more pages 201 before transmitting the oneor more pages 201 and transmit the one or more pages 201 to anotheruser. Referring again to the example 505 of FIG. 5B, the system 202 mayconvert the pages 9 and 10 to the PDF format and mail to another user,represented as 508 in FIG. 5B.

Computer System

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 600for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Inan embodiment, the computer system 600 (e.g., a controller) may be usedto implement the system 202. Thus, the computer system 600 may be usedfor managing the one or more pages 201 of the one or more documents onthe MFP 103. In an embodiment, the computer system 600 may communicatewith the MFP 612 over the communication network 609. The computer system600 may comprise a Central Processing Unit 602 (also referred as “CPU”or “processor”). The processor 602 may comprise at least one dataprocessor. The processor 602 may include specialized processing unitssuch as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management controlunits, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signalprocessing units, etc.

The processor 602 may be disposed in communication with one or moreinput/output (I/O) devices (not shown) via I/O interface 601. The I/Ointerface 601 may employ communication protocols/methods such as,without limitation, audio, analog, digital, monoaural, RCA, stereo, IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) -1394, serial bus,universal serial bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component,composite, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimediainterface (HDMI), Radio Frequency (RF) antennas, S-Video, VGA, IEEE802.n /b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., code-division multiple access(CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA+), global system for mobilecommunications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), WiMax, or the like),etc.

Using the I/O interface 601, the computer system 600 may communicatewith one or more I/O devices (e.g., a portion of a user interface). Forexample, the input device 610 may be an antenna, keyboard, mouse,joystick, remote control (e.g., infrared), camera, card reader, faxmachine, dongle, biometric reader, microphone, touch screen, touchpad,trackball, stylus, scanner, storage device, transceiver, videodevice/source, etc. The output device 611 (e.g., a portion of a userinterface) may be a printer, fax machine, video display (e.g., cathoderay tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode(LED), plasma, Plasma display panel (PDP), Organic light-emitting diodedisplay (OLED) or the like), audio speaker, etc.

The computer system 600 may be connected to the MFP 612 through acommunication network 609. The processor 602 may be disposed incommunication with the communication network 609 via a network interface603. The network interface 603 may communicate with the communicationnetwork 609. The network interface 603 may employ connection protocolsincluding, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twistedpair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internetprotocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/x, etc. Thecommunication network 609 may include, without limitation, a directinterconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), theInternet, etc. The network interface 603 may employ connection protocolsinclude, but not limited to, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twistedpair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internetprotocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc.

The communication network 609 includes, but is not limited to, a directinterconnection, an e-commerce network, a peer to peer (P2P) network,local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network(e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, Wi-Fi, andthe like. The first network and the second network may either be adedicated network or a shared network, which represents an associationof the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, forexample, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol(WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the first networkand the second network may include a variety of network devices,including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices,etc.

In some embodiments, the processor 602 may be disposed in communicationwith a memory 605 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. not shown in FIG. 6 ) via astorage interface 604. The storage interface 604 may connect to memory605 including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives,etc., employing connection protocols such as serial advanced technologyattachment (SATA), Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394,Universal Serial Bus (USB), fiber channel, Small Computer SystemsInterface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum,magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, RedundantArray of Independent Discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices,solid-state drives, etc.

The memory 605 may store a collection of program or database components,including, without limitation, user interface 606, an operating system607, web browser 608 etc. In some embodiments, computer system 600 maystore user/application data, such as, the data, variables, records,etc., as described in this disclosure. Such databases may be implementedas fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle® or Sybase®.

The operating system 607 may facilitate resource management andoperation of the computer system 600. Examples of operating systemsinclude, without limitation, APPLE MACINTOSH® OS X, UNIX®, UNIX-likesystem distributions (E.G., BERKELEY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION™ (BSD),FREEBSD™, NETBSD™, OPENBSD™, etc.), LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS™ (E.G., REDHAT™, UBUNTU™, KUBUNTU™, etc.), IBM™ OS/2, MICROSOFT™ WINDOWS™ (XP™,VISTA™/7/8, 10 etc.), APPLE® IOS™, GOOGLE® ANDROID™, BLACKBERRY® OS, orthe like.

In some embodiments, the computer system 600 may implement the webbrowser 608 stored program component. The web browser 608 may be ahypertext viewing application, for example MICROSOFT® INTERNETEXPLORER™, GOOGLE® CHROME™, MOZILLA® FIREFOX™, APPLE® SAFARI™, etc.Secure web browsing may be provided using Secure Hypertext TransportProtocol (HTTPS), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security(TLS), etc. Web browsers 608 may utilize facilities such as AJAX™,DHTML™, ADOBE® FLASH™, JAVASCRIPT™, JAVA™, Application ProgrammingInterfaces (APIs), etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 600 mayimplement a mail server (not shown in Figure) stored program component.The mail server may be an Internet mail server such as MicrosoftExchange, or the like. The mail server may utilize facilities such asASP™, ACTIVEX™, ANSI™ C++/C#, MICROSOFT®, .NET™, CGI SCRIPTS™, JAVA™,JAVASCRIPT ™, PERL™, PHP™, PYTHON™, WEBOBJECTS™, etc. The mail servermay utilize communication protocols such as Internet Message AccessProtocol (IMAP), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI),MICROSOFT® exchange, Post Office Protocol (POP), Simple Mail TransferProtocol (SMTP), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system600 may implement a mail client stored program component. The mailclient (not shown in Figure) may be a mail viewing application, such asAPPLE® MAIL™, MICROSOFT® ENTOURAGE™, MICROSOFT® OUTLOOK™, MOZILLA®THUNDERBIRD™, etc.

Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilizedin implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Acomputer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memoryon which information or data readable by a processor may be stored.Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions forexecution by one or more processors, including instructions for causingthe processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with theembodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” shouldbe understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves andtransient signals, i.e., be non-transitory. Examples include RandomAccess Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory,non-volatile memory, hard drives, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CDROMs), Digital Video Disc (DVDs), flash drives, disks, and any otherknown physical storage media.

Embodiments of the present disclosure allow a user to provide a requestfor processing multiple pages with different processing requirements atonce. Appropriate options can be specified by the user to processdifferent pages based on processing requirement. The present disclosureprovides a time-efficient process and enhances user experience whenoperating the MFP. Hence, processing of the multiple pages is managedefficiently.

The present disclosure utilizes options selected by user to processprevious pages for processing a current page. Hence, time and resourcesto process the page in the same format again is reduced.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. Theterms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention neednot include the device itself.

The illustrated operations of FIG. 4 show certain events occurring in acertain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may beperformed in a different order, modified, or removed. Moreover, stepsmay be added to the above-described logic and still conform to thedescribed embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occursequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yetfurther, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or bydistributed processing units.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principallyselected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not havebeen selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited notby this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on anapplication based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of theembodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but notlimiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in thefollowing claims.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopebeing indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for page management for use with animage forming apparatus, the method comprising: receiving, by acontroller associated with the image forming apparatus, a request from auser for processing one or more pages of one or more documents;displaying, on a display by the controller, (a) a thumbnail imagegenerated for each page and (b) a plurality of options for processingthe one or more pages; receiving, by the controller, a selection by theuser of at least one option of the plurality of options; determining, bythe controller, the selection received for a page from the one or morepages to be the same as a previous selection received for the page;retrieving, by the controller from a memory associated with the imageforming apparatus, a pre-stored page previously generated by processingthe page based on the previous selection, and utilizing, by thecontroller, the pre-stored page instead of processing the page based onthe selection .
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofoptions for processing the one or more pages comprises at least one of(a) one or more file formats for storing the one or more pages or (b)one or more transmission destinations for transmitting the one or morepages.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the page is a first page andthe one or more pages further includes a second page, the method furthercomprising processing the second page by at least one of (a) convertingthe second page to a file format selected from the one or more fileformats or (b) transmitting the second page pages to a transmissiondestination selected from the one or more transmission destinations. 4.(canceled)
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more pages ofthe one or more documents are at least one of (a) received from ascanner or (b) pre-stored in the memory associated with the imageforming apparatus.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein: theselection is a first selection; the one or more pages include a firstpage subset including the page and a second page subset; the firstselection corresponds to at least one option for processing the firstpage subset; and the method further comprises: receiving, by thecontroller, a second selection by the user of at least one option of theplurality of options for processing the second page subset; andprocessing the second page subset according to the at least one optionof the second selection.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the page is afirst page and the first page subset includes the first page and asecond page of the one or more pages a .
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of options for processing the one or more pagescomprises at least one of (a) a file format for the one or more pages,(b) a transmission destination for the one or more pages, (c) a namingformat for the one or more pages, or (d) an indication of whether toenable searchable text in the one or more pages.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein the one or more pages of the one or more documents are one ormore first pages, the method further comprising: identifying, by thecontroller, one or more second pages of the one or more documents forwhich an option was not selected by the user; and processing, by thecontroller, the one or more second pages according to a predeterminedoption.
 11. A system for page management for an image forming apparatus,the system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory storingprocessor-executable instructions, which, on execution, cause the one ormore processors to: receive a request from a user for processing one ormore pages of one or more documents; control a display to display (a) athumbnail image generated for each page and (b) a plurality of optionsfor processing the one or more pages; receive a selection by the user ofat least one option of the plurality of options; determine the selectionreceived for a page from the one or more pages to be the same as aprevious selection received for the page; receive, from a memoryassociated with the image forming apparatus, a pre-stored pagepreviously generated by processing the page based on the previousselection; and utilize the processed page instead of processing the pagebased on the selection .
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theplurality of options for processing the one or more pages comprises atleast one of (a) one or more file formats for storing the one or morepages or (b) one or more transmission destinations for transmitting theone or more pages.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the page is afirst page and the one or more pages further includes a second page ofthe one or more pages, and the instructions, on execution, further causethe one or more processors to process the second page by at least one of(a) converting the second page to a file format selected from the one ormore file formats or (b) transmitting the second page to a transmissiondestination selected from the one or more transmission destinations. 14.(canceled)
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more pages ofthe one or more documents are at least one of (a) received from ascanner or (b) pre-stored in the memory associated with the imageforming apparatus.
 16. A non-transitory computer readable mediumincluding instructions stored thereon that, when processed by at leastone processor, cause a device to perform operations comprising:receiving a request from a user for processing one or more pages of oneor more documents; displaying, on a display, (a) a thumbnail imagegenerated for each page and (b) a plurality of options for processingthe one or more pages; receiving a selection by the user of at least oneoption of the plurality of options; determining the selection receivedfor a page from the one or more pages to be the same as a previousselection of an option received for the page; retrieving, from a memoryassociated with the image forming apparatus, a pre-stored pagepreviously generated by processing the page based on the previousselection; and utilizing the processed page instead of processing thepage based on the selection .
 17. The medium of claim 16, wherein theplurality of options for processing the one or more pages comprises atleast one of (a) one or more file formats for storing the one or morepages or (b) one or more transmission destinations for transmitting theone or more pages.
 18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the page is afirst page and the one or more pages further includes a second page, andthe operations further comprise processing the second page by at leastone of (a) converting the second page to a file format selected from theone or more file formats or (b) transmitting the second page to atransmission destination selected from the one or more transmissiondestinations.
 19. (canceled)
 20. The medium of claim 16, wherein the oneor more pages of the one or more documents are at least one of (a)received from a scanner or (b) pre-stored in the memory associated withthe image forming apparatus.